


Snowballs and Phone Calls

by xyliane



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Fluff, Long-Distance Relationship, Phone Calls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2016-05-15
Packaged: 2018-06-08 11:21:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6852595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xyliane/pseuds/xyliane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been four months since they spoke, so of course the first thing Gon calls about is his math homework.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Snowballs and Phone Calls

**Author's Note:**

> Because I do not believe these boys wouldn't call each other about ridiculous things in their lives as they grow up. In any case have some self-indulgent fluff.

Killua never expected him and Gon to go for too long without staying in touch. It won’t be easy, but they’re best friends. It’d be unthinkable, really. So until Killua can figure out a long-term solution to keeping Alluka and Nanika safe, Gon has to wait for Killua's say-so, which means waiting for a letter that takes at least two weeks to get to him. And that's not even counting the amount of time it takes to set up the account in the first place, calling in favors Killua didn't know he's earned in the years he's followed Gon. All told, it's maybe four months between the last time they saw each other under the World Tree, and the first time he hears Gon's voice again.

It makes an odd sort of sense that the first phone call from Gon is about _math_.

“You said to call if I needed you, and I can't do this on my own, Killua!” he says without even bothering with a greeting. Gon's voice is exactly as Killua remembers down to how it cracks on his name. Killua hasn't realized just how much he misses his best friend until the knot near his heart loosens just a bit.

Killua balances the phone against his shoulder, juggling Alluka's tea and his own hot cocoa around giant fuzzy mittens that were _really_ not what he wanted but they were the only things in the store. But it's not like he'll need to hurt anyone, not here. This town is almost like a gingerbread village, famous for its winter festivals and year-round outdoor ice skating. Killua and Alluka, not entirely by coincidence, managed to arrive in the middle of the town's ice art competition, the whole place decorated with thirty foot tall snow animals and tiny, intricate towers made of sparkling ice. No one notices another two kids hanging out during the party.

It feels like years since he last saw winter—somehow, in all his traveling with Gon, they never managed to stay somewhere long enough for it to get cold. But more importantly, his sisters don't remember the last time they were allowed to play in the snow, and Killua will be damned if he doesn't introduce them to the fine art of snowball fights, Zoldyck style. Alluka's gone on ahead to look at the ice sculptures, so for the moment, it's just Killua and the snowfall.

And Gon's complaints about his math homework. “Killua, this makes no sense!” he pleas. “How can letters mean numbers and numbers make letters? Doesn't that just make more words?”

He's probably got steam coming out of his ears. The image is familiar enough and funny enough that Killua can't help but grin. “It's just algebra,” he says, sitting on a bench. “It's not like you're doing taxes or something.”

Gon makes a noise like his brain is coming out through his nose. “Aunt Mito wants me to learn that after I catch up on everything else,” he groans. “'Taxes are an important part of growing up,' she says. Did you know we have to _pay_ something on everything we earned from Greed Island? Have you been? Do we need to?”

Killua laughs hard enough that some of the whipped cream overflows, spilling out of the hole in the travel mug's lid. He sets Alluka's tea down carefully so it will avoid a similar fate, and quickly slurps up the rest of his quickly-cooling chocolate before answering Gon. “Your dad probably figured something out to avoid it. Besides, your homework can't be as complicated as Knuckle's compound interest,” he says.

“It seems like it is. Listen, this one says—”

“No. I don't even have something to write with.”

“Use the snow! It's just one question—”

“I'm not doing your homework for you!”

There's a _fwump_ on the other end of the line. “You're no help,” Gon says. “You probably don't even know how algebra works.”

“Better than you,” Killua says.

Gon pauses. It's always most dangerous when he's thinking, but Killua isn't going to stop him. How would he? It's not like he can reach through the phone and stuff snow down Gon’s shirt, no matter how much he wants to. “I bet I can finish these problems before you.”

Gon's goading him, and Killua knows it. Besides, he really should get to Alluka before her tea gets cold. But Gon's always worked best when tested, and Killua likes nothing more than a challenge. “Not a chance, idiot,” he says, repositioning the phone so he can walk, talk, and hold the drinks all at once. “Whoever finishes the most problems wins?”

“You're on!”

He finds Alluka as Gon read outs out the next problem (the last two had been victories for Killua, but only just barely—maybe Gon's cheating or he found a calculator, but he’s probably just getting the hang of it). She’s climbing over an ice replica of Yorknew Tower, nimbly dodging attempts by other kids to snowball her off of her throne. Killua feels his chest warm when she does a spin-twist-flip thing that sends two of her opponents toppling off the sculpture and straight into well-placed snowdrifts, a smug smirk on her face. She is _definitely_ his sister.

It feels weird, knowing she's actually _older_ than Killua was when he started traveling with Gon, but seems so much younger. Or maybe, she's just happier than he can remember seeing her. _Free_.

“Brother!” Alluka calls from her perch. She waves down at him, grinning widely when he waves back with her mug of tea. She catches a final snowball and nails the boy who'd thrown it right between the eyes, before jumping down off of the sculpture to land next to Killua.

“You took foreeeeever. You didn't let this get cold, did you?” Alluka says.

“Never,” Killua says. He lets his aura spark, just enough to jump from his fingers to her mug to warm it up a bit before handing it to her. The phone goes fuzzy for a moment, and he can hear a squawk through the feedback. Alluka giggles and takes a long sip of her tea, a pleased smile on her face.

“127!” Gon calls out abruptly. “Ha! I win!” Killua swears, drawing a delighted cackle from the phone and a shocked giggle from his sister.

Alluka's expression softens. “Are you talking with Gon?” she asks at the same time Gon says, “Is Alluka there?”

Killua nods. “How could you tell?” he asks them both.

Alluka points at Killua's face, like there's something stuck to it. Killua goes nearly cross-eyed trying to figure it out, which makes his sister burst back into giggles. There's a quiet laugh from the other end of the line. “You're a good big brother, Killua,” Gon says.

“I'm trying,” he admits, quieter and more solemn than he thought he could be. Considering basically every single one of Killua's blood-related role models has a terribly possessive and fairly murderous understanding of emotional attachments, it's no surprise Killua has an idea of how to be a good big brother just by not doing what everyone else in his family does. Or else he'll have to try to emulate _Leorio_ , and that's just...unthinkable, really.

“That's good,” Gon says. “You've got what you want to do now, so don't let me down!”

Alluka tugs on his coat. “We love Killua,” Nanika says, a wide smile on her face. “Can we eat ice cream soon?” Killua's hands are full, but he manages an awkward elbow rub onto his sisters' head before she burrows into the front of his coat. This _is_ what Killua wants to do. He might not be able to be with Gon for a while, but Gon's number two anyways. Alluka and Nanika are the most important. And he and Gon will stay in touch. It's not like they'll never see each other again.

“Hey, Gon...”

“You gotta go?” There's something wistful in his voice.

“Mm.” Killua wonders what Gon looks like—probably drowning in homework, with that stupid look he gets when he's been thinking too hard. Is it weird that Killua misses seeing that, almost as much as he misses Gon’s smile? “I'll have this number for a bit, so maybe later, if you want, I'll call you.”

“Yeah.” Gon sighs, like he's about to say something, but all Killua gets is another long silence he doesn't know how to fill. Neither of them hangs up, though. Then: “Hey Killua, if I'm trying to find the area of a triangle—”

“I'M NOT DOING YOUR HOMEWORK,” Killua declares and slams the phone shut, Gon's laughter echoing in his ears.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you hunter x hunter for getting me to write again. less thanks for how much it has destroyed my ability to think about or work on anything else.


End file.
